"The sales activity for 2007 was a record year thatsignificantly outpaced all previous years," Darrell Betts, seniorvice president in Houston for Grubb & Ellis Co., tellsGlobeSt.com. "Houston is one of the last places in the countrywhere you can buy at below-replacement costs and the price per sfhas a tremendous amount of growth opportunities."

Betts and other top local executives are headlining thismorning's forecast meeting in River Oaks Country Club at 1600 RiverOaks Blvd. An estimated 450 brokers, investors and developers areexpected to attend the Santa Ana, CA-based brokerage firm's annualevent.

Betts says Houston's emergence as "truly an international city"has catapulted it onto radar screens of investors worldwide. Hecredits direct flights to Dubai and soon to Moscow with fueling newinterest from afar. The three flights per week to Dubai will go todaily direct flights in February and Moscow goes live in March.